If you want to have a fun day of bowhunting, grab your bow and head out after some sort of small game animals. Whether it’s wading through briars after cottontail, sitting against a giant hickory tree to scan limbs for squirrels, or slowly trekking through tall grass in hopes of kicking up a ringneck pheasant – it provides you with a more fast paced challenge than hunting most big game does. Most folks stick to a firearm when it comes to small game, however bowhunting small game is seriously underrated.
I spend a considerable amount of time hunting small game with my bow every year. Squirrel season opens a good month before deer season, and rabbit is open for a month after deer season closes. So, it gives me something to do when I can’t deer hunt and it helps hone my skills as well as my hand and eye coordination. I hunt primarily squirrel, rabbit, pheasant and the occasional mourning dove as these are the most abundant small game species in southern Ohio.
Over the years I have quickly learned that when it comes to bowhunting small game, broadheads and tips are not a one size fits all. On the contrary, I tend to use different arrow setups for each kind of small game to ensure I’m using what will give me the quickest, cleanest kill. I have used just about every small game head on the market, and there are only a handful of tips and broadheads that I actually find useful.
The first small game animal I ever bowhunted was grey squirrels. I grew up hunting them with a firearm, however once I started bowhunting them I learned it was a whole different story. You wouldn’t think that it would be difficult to take a squirrel, considering they are small and one arrow should take out the vitals. However, squirrels are one of the toughest animals I’ve ever hunted when it comes to making a clean kill shot.
After some bad experiences with several different small game heads, I started using broadheads instead. I like to use whatever arrow setup I have equipped for whitetail, however any fixed blade broadhead will do the job. Small, 1 inch, 100 grain heads are ideal, however as long as they’re sharp and fly well, then you’re good to go.
The DRT broadhead from DirtNap Gear is one that I have used in the past, and will work well for both compound and traditional bows, as well as flying accurately.
Avoid using field tips or blunts. Speaking from experience, these may kill the squirrel, but may not. And, I for one prefer to go home with some squirrels for the soup pot, and not leaving one running around the tree branches with an arrow still in it.
Rabbit however, are a different story. They are extremely thin skinned and it is much easier to bag a few rabbits than it is a squirrel. I like to use heavier grain “thumper” tips, especially if I’m running a dog. (They’ll do less damage to the dog should it accidentally get in the way, and isn’t sharp if stepped on.) Field tips, judo tips or small broadheads also work great to get the job done. Essentially, just about any tips will work when it comes to bowhunting rabbits, so you can be less picky when it comes to building arrows for bunny’s. However, keep in mind that if you’re using broadheads and lose an arrow you’ll have to be careful to avoid stepping on the blades, as well as being careful running a dog in that area. This is why I prefer blunt tips, despite the fact that broadheads also get the job done.
Bowhunting small game birds is yet another story, and probably the trickiest small game to hunt. Pheasant in particular are one of my favorites, and provide quite a challenge. It’s fairly easy to knock a bird down while it’s in flight, however the goal is to kill the bird and not just prevent it from flying off.
I choose to only shoot birds in flight – it seems unethical to me to shoot a sitting bird. It’s just too easy. I practice aerial shots over the summer to try and stay in the game for bird hunting, and I usually use a heavy blunt tip or a small broadhead. The downside of broadheads is it can do some damage to the meat, but they have proven very effective in making a quick, clean kill.
Blunts work very well too, particularly if you’re running dogs – for the same reason I avoid broadheads when rabbit hunting with dogs. The same goes for dove; broadheads work but I prefer blunt tips or even judo points. They are a small, delicate game bird that doesn’t require anything large or heavy on the end of your arrow. The same would go for hunting quail or chukkar. There isn’t much to the bird, so you don’t need to go overboard on a giant broadhead.
I’m sure many of you have seen the giant wire “bird stopper” heads. Made of heavy duty wire loops with a field tip in the center. They work great for knocking birds down, but often don’t kill the bird. I tend to avoid these types of heads for any hunting, as they seem to be more about the “cool” factor and flair than they are about serving a purpose.
No matter what small game you’re after this season, take a minute to make sure you’re using the appropriate arrow and broadhead setup for a successful hunt. As hunters, it is our responsibility to hunt as ethically as possible, and this plays a big part in that.
